Powerful earthquake ripples across Tibet

A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake has shaken China’s Tibet region. There was no immediate detail given on the damage caused or number of casualties.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of about 6 miles about 36 miles northeast of Nyingchi. China’s official Xinhua News Agency put the magnitude at 6.9 and said it struck at 6.34am local time.

The Nyingchi government said in a statement on its blog that the quake’s epicenter was in an uninhabited region and that it had yet to receive any casualty reports. The epicenter was within 150 miles of the Indian towns of Along, Pasighat and Tezu, the USGS added.

A magnitude 6.3 quake is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage.

The first shock was followed by 5-magnitude earthquake at 8:31 a.m (Beijing time) around the same place in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The second quake struck at a depth of about 6 km.

Southwestern parts of China are frequently hit by earthquakes. A huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.